JP2023536583A - welding equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

A welding apparatus comprising a moving assembly for at least one electrode capable of carrying an electric current to carry out a welding process. The assembly includes at least one cylinder and at least one stem that firmly supports an electrode, the stem being at least partially housed within the cylinder and accommodating the at least one electrode relative to the part to be welded. It is movable coaxially in alternating linear movements along the longitudinal axis (A) of the cylinder so as to press with a welding force of. The welding device includes a device for measuring welding force, the device having a plate and a plurality of deformation sensors, the plate being stably inserted between the stem and at least one electrode, each of the The surfaces are arranged at right angles to the longitudinal axis (A), and the plurality of deformation sensors are housed in through slots provided in the plate, along an imaginary circumference about the longitudinal axis (A). Placed.

Description

The present invention relates to welding equipment.

As is known, the term "electric resistance welding" refers to a broad category of methods in which the materials to be welded are heated by electrical resistance.

More precisely, in this technique at least one electrode is pressed against the parts to be welded and then an electric current is passed through the electrodes and the parts in question. Due to the Joule effect, the current causes localized heating of the contact points between the part and the electrode, up to liquefaction of the material involved and subsequent welding.

Similarly, it is known that to ensure a good weld, it is necessary to properly adjust and control three parameters: current intensity, welding time, and force applied to the parts during welding. ing.

Efficient instruments are now known that can reliably control and adjust the desired values for the first two parameters indicated above, but have heretofore been employed to control the welding force. None of the various different solutions have been entirely satisfactory.

In practice, gauges and pressure regulating valves may be used for control. This method is a method of applying "indirect" control in that preset pressure circuit values can be read and controlled. The required force can be obtained by multiplying the pressure circuit value by the cross-sectional area of the cylinder pushing the electrode. However, the gauge reads the pressure value at a point in the circuit some distance from the pusher cylinder. Therefore, the sliding friction of the pusher cylinder and its negative weight, or that occurs with welding, when working "off-axis" (welding electrode and cylinder are not coaxial), the pusher cylinder cannot consider the forces opposing the action of

Thus, in practice, electric resistance welders using gauges and pressure regulating valves are unable to produce force values corresponding to desired values. The factors listed above change unpredictably from welding cycle to welding cycle, usually leading to unacceptable vibrations and deviations, especially when repeatability of the welding process constitutes a critical factor.

Other electric resistance welders attempt to control the welding force using sensors that can measure deformations in the machine's own structure. Such deformation is caused by the forces generated during the welding step. These sensors are placed at a considerable distance from the weld point due to disturbance and interference from high currents during operation. As such, such electric resistance welders may suffer from the same drawbacks as the previously described types. That is, it fails to adequately account for the force components consumed by the friction between the various components of the moving stem of the cylinder. Therefore, it is not possible to know the exact value of the force that the welding electrode exerts on the layer of material to be welded.

Both of the above approaches are subject to additional inaccuracies. For example, there is a relevant temperature effect (temperature alters the yield of the system by further changing the force on the electrodes) or a hysteresis effect experienced by the measurement components. A hysteresis effect occurs when transitioning from a higher adjustment value to a lower value or vice versa.

For these reasons, and the impossibility of obtaining clear information about the forces occurring during welding, sometimes operators stop production to perform a check of the actual forces being applied to the electrodes. A force-measuring device (e.g., a sample load cell) must be placed between the electrodes and the necessary adjustments made.

However, given that this check is usually performed without current flowing through the electrodes, the force values read and the new adjustments based on them do not correspond to the working conditions that occur during welding. Furthermore, during welding, the flow of current between the electrodes produces an electromagnetic force in the opposite direction of the applied force, which can be subtracted from the contact of the electrodes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The aim of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide a welding device capable of performing an optimal measurement of the welding force, i.e. the force with which the electrode presses against the parts to be welded. .

Within this goal, it is an object of the present invention to provide a welding device capable of reading and accurately adjusting the welding force independently of the position of the electrode with respect to the axis of the pusher cylinder.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a welding apparatus that is capable of performing optimal weld force measurements without being subject to distortion or other disturbing effects due to electromagnetic forces generated in the weld itself.

Another object of the invention is to provide a welding device that ensures a high reliability of operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a welding device that employs a different technical and structural architecture than conventional devices.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a welding apparatus that is easy to implement using components and materials that are readily available on the market.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a welding device that is low cost and safe to apply.

This goal, as well as these and other objects that will become apparent hereinafter, are achieved by a welding device according to claim 1.

Further features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred but not exclusive embodiments of the welding apparatus according to the invention, which are shown by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings. deaf. In the accompanying drawings, FIGS. 6 to 12 show the measuring device of the present invention, which does not have a deformation sensor, according to the first embodiment. 13 to 17 are diagrams showing a measuring device of the present invention according to a second embodiment.

1 is a right front perspective view of a welding device according to the invention; FIG. Figure 2 is a left front perspective view of a subassembly of the welding apparatus of Figure 1 including a cylinder and measuring device; Figure 3 is a front view of the subassembly of Figure 2; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 3; 3 is a right exploded front perspective view of the subassembly of FIG. 2; FIG. It is the exploded perspective view seen from the measuring device. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the measuring device of FIG. 6 as seen from above; Figure 7 is a perspective view from below of the plate of the measuring device of Figure 6; Figure 7 is a view from below of the plate of the measuring device of Figure 6; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 9 along line XX; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XI-XI of FIG. 9; Figure 12 shows a greatly enlarged detail of Figure 11; It is the exploded perspective view seen from the measuring device. Figure 14 is a perspective view from below of the plate of the measuring device of Figure 13; Figure 15 is a bottom view of the plate of Figure 14; Figure 16 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 15 along line XVI-XVI; Figure 15 is a cross-sectional view of the plate of Figure 14 along a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis;

Referring specifically to the drawings, the numeral 1 generally indicates a welding apparatus according to the invention. The welding device 1 according to the invention comprises a displacement assembly 2 for at least one electrode (not shown in the accompanying drawings, but known per se in whatever shape). The electrodes are arranged along a travel trajectory (alternate translation) of the electrodes and can pass an electric current to perform the welding process on two or more parts to be welded together.

More specifically, assembly 2 includes at least one cylinder 3 (typically pneumatic, hydraulic, or hydraulic) and at least one cylinder 3 that rigidly (indirectly, as described below) supports the electrodes. a stem 4; More specifically, stem 4 is at least partially housed in cylinder 3 and is coaxially movable in alternating linear movements along longitudinal axis A of cylinder 3 . This allows the electrode to be pressed against the parts to be welded with a corresponding welding force. According to a method known per se, during the process of withdrawing the stem 4 (partially or completely) from the cylinder 3, the electrode supported by said stem 4 comes into contact with the part and the welding force is generated. do. Once welding is complete, the stem 4 re-enters the cylinder 3 (as part of an alternating linear motion) to facilitate removal of the welded parts and preparation of the apparatus 1 for performing another process. can be done.

More precisely, according to a method known per se, the device 1 normally defines a support surface 5 on which the parts to be welded (for example a pair of metal plates) are placed. can be done. The support surface 5 is advantageously arranged along the stroke (or at the end of the stroke) along which the electrode can travel, so that the electrode presses the part against the surface 5 and current can flow to effect welding. .

On the surface 5 a second electrode can act (from the opposite side) or the second electrode can be the part itself, whatever the shape, allowing the flow of current.

In any case, the previous techniques and methods are known per se and need not be explained further.

It should also be noted that in preferred applications the apparatus 1 is configured to perform an electric resistance welding process (of various known types). This causes the parts to be welded to be welded by electrical resistance while the electrodes are pressing the parts against the surface 5 (or more generally while the parts are clamped between corresponding electrodes). heated.

In any case, the possibility is provided to carry out another type of welding process using the device 1 according to the invention.

According to the invention, the device 1 comprises a welding force measuring device 6 . More specifically, as will be explained in more detail below, the device 6 measures the value of the force that the stem 4 and respective electrodes exert against the parts to be welded during welding.

The device 6 comprises a plate 7 which is stably inserted between the stem 4 and the electrode and whose respective faces 7a, 7b are arranged perpendicular to the longitudinal axis A. As intuitively appreciated, even from the attached figures, the faces 7a, 7b of the plate 7 are identified by the two larger dimensions of the plate 7 (the third dimension being the thickness or thickness of the plate 7). height and aligned or parallel to the longitudinal axis A).

Plate 7 is preferably made of a non-magnetic metallic material and is substantially rectangular (as in the accompanying drawings), square, circular or the like.

Furthermore, the device 6 includes a plurality of deformation sensors 8 (shown only in FIG. 13 for simplicity), which are housed in through slots 9 . A through slot 9 is provided in the plate 7 (above the plate 7) along an imaginary circumference B (whose outline is shown in FIGS. 9, 15 and 17) about the longitudinal axis A. or when viewed from below).

The sensor 8 is placed in direct contact with the electrode or an element supporting the electrode (as will become more apparent below) and/or plate 7 placed in the vicinity of the weld point, whatever its shape. , the deformation due to the generated welding force (alone) is measured. Therefore, the readings obtained by the sensor 8 allow an optimal measurement of the weld force to be obtained without interference or distortion affecting or altering the readings. Thus, in this respect, the goals set are achieved.

In particular, according to two particularly practical embodiments, the plates 7 are four (as in the solution shown in FIGS. 6 to 12) or eight (as in the solution shown in FIGS. 13 to 17). , etc.). In both cases, these slots 9 have the same dimensions as each other and are regularly distributed along the imaginary circumference B. FIG. The circumferential dimension of the slots 9 (i.e., measured along the imaginary circumference B) is a small space (e.g., 5 to 10 mm) between the end of one slot 9 and the beginning of the next slot. mm). In any case, the remaining section of the portion of plate 7 contained between the end of one slot 9 and the beginning of the next slot depends on the type of material used, the maximum load of cylinder 3, and more generally , can be conveniently calculated by the minimum and maximum expected deformations.

In any event, the scope of protection claimed herein includes a plate 7 with any number of slots 9, these slots need not be identical to each other and/or Note that there is no need to distribute regularly around B.

As a non-limiting example of the application of the invention, in a preferred embodiment also shown in FIG. 13, each sensor 8 is an electrical resistance strain gauge, a deformable element rigidly applied on a layered support 8a. including. Said support 8a is then firmly applied to one of the two end walls 9a of the respective slot 9 which lie opposite each other along the imaginary circumference B.

As is known, the object to which the support 8a (plate 7) is applied deforms due to the stresses it undergoes, which deformation deforms the deformable element. This changes the electrical resistance that opposes the flow of current. A suitable measurement of this change can make it possible to find the value of the deformation and thus of the force exerted on the plate 7 .

In a preferred embodiment that allows a more accurate measurement of weld force to be obtained, and with further reference to FIG. It houses the sensor 8). A pair of strain gauges is applied to each end wall 9a (or placed at another point in the slot 9). Depending on specific requirements, the two sensors 8 in the same slot 9 can be mounted at the same axial height (ie measured along the longitudinal axis A) or at different heights.

The presence of two or more sensors 8 of strain gauges or another type housed in the same slot 9 or different slots 9 allows automatic correction of the final result, independent of the position of application of the welding force. Results can be obtained as absolute values.

Usefully, each face 7a, 7b of the plate 7 has, between each pair of adjacent slots 9, a receiving groove 10 for electrical connections (wires, etc.) of the sensor 8. As shown in FIG. Also, each groove 10 is effectively arranged along the imaginary circumference B. As shown in FIG.

For simplicity, the electrical connections are not shown in the accompanying figures (in FIG. 13 the terminals connected to the sensor 8 are shown schematically), but they are known per se and therefore , can be readily intuitively understood by those skilled in the art. Grooves 10 (preferably but not limited to having semi-circular bottoms or other rounded bottoms) effectively define recesses for placing electrical connections between sensors 8 . This ensures that the electrical connections between the sensors 8 cannot be crushed or damaged when the faces 7a, 7b come into contact with the surrounding elements of the device 1 (this will be explained in more detail below. 1 or 4).

Advantageously, the slots 9 and grooves 10 are provided with a plurality of annular protective plugs 11 in order to precisely guarantee optimum protection of the sensors 8 (and their respective electrical connections) used for measuring deformations and forces. , a plurality of annular protective plugs 11 are applied to the corresponding faces 7a, 7b of the plate 7 and arranged along the imaginary circumference B;

Annular plug 11 may prevent dirt, debris, and other types of impurities from entering plate 7, thus protecting the integrity and functionality of the components housed within slots 9 and grooves 10. can.

Advantageously, the welding device 1 comprises an electronic control and management unit, which is arranged for the actuation of the moving assembly 2 and the adjustment of the strength of the welding force. This unit contains instructions for adjusting the intensity of the welding force based on the data collected by the sensor 8, which is controlled for this purpose by the unit itself.

The electronic unit can be of any type, for example an electronic controller mounted on the device 1 . However, the possibility of using different types of electronic units (whether attached to the device 1 or not) is not excluded. The electronic unit may therefore be any reprogrammable hardware platform or whatever form it may take to affect the strength of the welding force and/or the stroke of the stem 4 .

More precisely, the electronic unit compares the value of the welding force actually occurring in the determined welding cycle (treatment) (typically having a duration of several tenths of a second) with the preset force value. configured to If a deviation occurs, immediate intervention can be made during that cycle first and foremost, but more generally (given the very short duration of a single cycle), deviation detection It is guaranteed that the unit will automatically make corrections in the next cycle to correct the deviation. From a practical point of view, in order to set, control and change the welding force, the electronic unit acts, for example, on the circuit pressure of the circuit responsible for the movement of the stem 4 (via a proportional servovalve) to achieve the desired It can be modified to reach and maintain load.

Advantageously, the measuring device 6 comprises a connecting cable 12 for connecting the sensor 8 to a signal converter in order to transfer the data collected by the sensor 8 to an electronic control and management unit. So, in other words, during application of the load generated by the assembly 2, the deformation of the sensor 8 is converted into electrical signals and processed by the electronic unit. The electronic unit can return the applied weight expressed in units of daN, for example.

The connecting cable 12 is housed at least partially in a track 13 provided along the side of the plate 7 and arranged in direct or indirect communication with the slot 9 (in which the sensor 8 is housed).

Like the grooves 10 , the tracks 13 allow the connecting cables 12 to actually be accommodated in the plate 7 . This allows the connecting cable 12 not to protrude beyond the bulk of the plate 7 itself, thus keeping the connecting cable 12 protected.

In order to better protect the connecting cable 12, the track 13 is preferably closed with an insert 14 (made of metal or another material). The insert member 14 is applied to the corresponding side of the plate 7 and is perforated to allow access of the connecting cable 12 (eg as shown in FIG. 7).

Usefully, the plate 7 has a side pocket 15 arranged in direct or indirect communication with the slot 9 . The side pockets 15 accommodate the electronics associated with the sensors 8 and the external electrical connection terminals of these sensors 8 .

For example, as shown in FIG. 17, the pocket 15 can communicate with one of the slots 9 through the first cylindrical hole 16 (thus, the groove 10 also communicates the pocket 15 with the other slot 9). ing).

In this way all sensors 8 can be interconnected with those housed in pocket 15 . Additionally, a second cylindrical hole 17 connects the pocket 15 to the track 13, thereby completing the connection between the various components, all effectively held within the dimensions of the plate 7. can.

Note that pocket 15 can also be closed by a contoured plug 15a for a similar purpose to the protection for annular plug 11 and insert 14 discussed above.

In a preferred embodiment, which does not limit the application of the invention in any way, the first side 7a of the plate 7 is stably fixed to the free end of the stem 4 and the second side of the plate 7 opposite the first side 7a. The surface 7b of the electrode is stably fixed to the support block 18 of the electrode.

More specifically, the plate 7 has a series of first screws 19 inserted into corresponding (equally distributed around the longitudinal axis A) first holes 20 provided along the plate 7 . is integrated with the stem 4 by . The contact area between the stem 4 and the plate 7 effectively corresponds to the outer diameter of the stem 4 (except for the central hole 21 which is additionally provided for the outlet of the electrical cable). In this way the connection between stem 4 and plate 7 is formed by tightening of first screw 19 and does not cause deformation in plate 7 .

Similarly, with further reference to preferred but not exclusive embodiments, the diameter A circular shallow recess 22 having a wider dimension is provided. In this way, the resting surface of the plate 7 on the support block 18 corresponds, in the area outside the diameter of the stem 4, to the entirety of the second surface 7b of the plate 7 minus the surface of the shallow recess 22. can do.

Similarly, in the portion of the plate 7 contained between the end of one slot 9 and the beginning of the next slot (along the imaginary circumference B) there is an axial "continuity" between the stem 4 and the block 18. Note that there is a 'nature' (no empty spaces or voids). Preferably, these portions are arranged along a primary working direction and a secondary working direction.

The operation of the welding device according to the invention is as follows.

As shown, the support block 18 of the electrode (or electrode in any case) is fixed to the stem 4 and the stem 4 is capable of alternating linear motion along the longitudinal axis A. In this way, the device 1 acts as a press and the electrodes, when reaching the limit of maximum extraction from the cylinder 3 or moving in the direction of the limit of maximum extraction, are placed on the surface 5 in advance. The part is put under pressure. This allows welding of those parts (preferably by various techniques including but not limited to electric resistance welding) to be performed.

The methods and elements involved in performing welding are conventional per se. A feature of the present invention is the employment and construction/arrangement of the measuring device 6 which is inserted between the free end of the stem 4 and the electrode (between the stem 4 and the block 18) as shown.

The measuring device 6 comprises a plate 7 defining an interior by a slot 9 for receiving a sensor 8 which, when the stem 4 presses an electrode against the part to be welded and exerts the required welding force, Secondly, it is used to measure the deformation occurring in the plate 7 .

Since the plate 7 is placed in direct contact with or near the welding point (of the electrode or its support block 18), the deformation of the plate 7 read by the sensor 8 is the deformation due to the welding force applied to the part. is. The readings are not affected by interfering factors that affect readings made by sensors located some distance from the weld point in conventional methods. Sliding friction of the stem 4, its negative weight, dissipation, and other reactions that may occur during welding and thereby sense the effect at a distance from the weld point. However, the readings of sensor 8 are not affected in any way and can remain accurate and precise indeed.

Slot 9 provides shielding and protection for sensor 8 against disturbances, forces or interference caused by (high intensity) current passing through the electrodes during welding, thereby shielding sensor 8 from such disturbances. It becomes difficult to perceive. Precisely for this reason, the present invention allows a sensor 8 to be placed near the weld point to allow real-time force readings during the process.

In this way, the device 1 according to the invention is set up so that an optimal measurement of the welding force, ie the force exerted on the parts to be welded during the actual welding, can be carried out and process uncertainties can be eliminated. It can be seen that the purpose has been fully achieved.

Since the plates 7 are in contact with the electrodes and/or corresponding blocks 18, and the sensors 8 are arranged along the longitudinal axis A, the readings obtained by these sensors are based on the fact that the electrodes are aligned with the longitudinal axis A. Even when not (which occurs in some applications) it is quite accurate and precise. The device 1 is thus able to carry out readings and precise adjustments of the welding force independently of the position of the electrodes relative to the longitudinal axis A of the cylinder 3 . This represents a very practical and arguably further advantage achieved by the present invention. It is known that one of the main problems associated with the use of load cells, which are sometimes used in conventional equipment to detect welding force, is that in practice such systems are is sensitive to the position of the electrode endpoints relative to the position of the force sensor employed.

In addition, the plate 7 is provided with grooves 10, tracks 13 and pockets 15 (and cylindrical holes 16, 17) so that the operation and (due to the plugs 11, 15a and insert 14) of the sensor 8 It turns out that it is possible to house, shield and protect all the components necessary for the functional connection. This also allows the measurements performed by the device 6 to be highly reliable and accurate (because they are not subject to distortion or interference in any part of the device).

For example, through an interface associated with the electronic unit, an operator can program various parameters associated with performing a welding cycle. For example, the value of the direct force (in daN) applied to the electrode during the welding phase, the time in seconds or milliseconds to perform the step of approaching the upper electrode (supported by the stem 4), the welding effect The required current value in amperes, the time in seconds or milliseconds to perform the weld.

It is emphasized again that the device 1 according to the invention does not require information about the position of the electrodes with respect to the longitudinal axis A; 2, since it has already been found that this does not affect the reading of the measuring device 6.

Merely by way of example (and, of course, without limiting the application of the invention), a possible welding cycle may have the following values. That is, the welding force is 500 daN, the approach time is 0.2 seconds, the current value is 40,000 A, and the welding time is 0.2 seconds.

Now starting the cycle in order, the following steps are performed. During the set approach time, the stem 4 supporting the upper electrode is lowered. An electronic unit feeds back to the servo valve to determine the pressure required in cylinder 3 to apply the set welding force. Then, when the measurement device 6 detects that the force applied to the electrodes corresponds to the desired value, welding is initiated by sending current to the electrodes for the programmed time and intensity.

Thus, the present invention provides direct and independent control and management of each single step of each single welding cycle.

This represents another advantage of the invention. Known solutions often require the operator to set a time value that includes all cycle steps. This results in a different welding effect from cycle to cycle (eg, a shorter time used in the electrode approach step leads to a longer time in the next step of the cycle, etc.). Therefore, considerable production variation occurs.

Finally, between the obtained reading and the preset force value (e.g. due to lack of alignment between the longitudinal axis A and the electrodes and/or electromagnetic effects produced by welding) Deviations are automatically corrected and corrected in the next cycle by the electronic unit.

The invention thus conceived is susceptible to numerous modifications and variations, all of which fall within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, all the details may be replaced with other technically equivalent elements.

In the illustrated embodiments, individual features shown in relation to specific examples can be substantially replaced with other different features present in other embodiments.

In fact, the materials and dimensions used may be arbitrary depending on the requirements and the state of the art.

The disclosure of Italian Patent Application No. 102020000018202 from which this application claims priority is incorporated herein by reference.

When technical features mentioned in a claim are followed by reference signs, these reference signs are included for the sole purpose of enhancing the understanding of the claims and, therefore, such reference signs refer to Such reference numerals are not intended to have a limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified as an example.

Claims (10)

A welding device comprising a moving assembly (2) for at least one electrode capable of passing an electric current to perform a welding process,
said moving assembly (2) comprises at least one cylinder (3) and at least one stem (4) rigidly supporting said electrode;
Said stem (4) is at least partly housed within said cylinder (3) and of said cylinder (3) so as to press said at least one electrode against the parts to be welded with a corresponding welding force. coaxially movable in alternating linear motion along the longitudinal axis (A);
a device (6) for measuring the welding force;
The device (6) comprises a plate (7) and a plurality of deformation sensors (8),
Said plate (7) is stably inserted between said stem (4) and said at least one electrode, with respective faces (7a, 7b) arranged perpendicular to said longitudinal axis (A). ,
A plurality of said deformation sensors (8) are housed in through slots (9) provided in said plate (7) and along an imaginary circumference (B) about said longitudinal axis (A) to be placed,
A welding device characterized by: Said plate (7) has a number of said slots (9) equal to four or eight, said slots (9) having dimensions identical to each other and along said imaginary circumference (B) regularly distributed
The welding device according to claim 1, characterized in that: each said deformation sensor (8) is an electrical resistance strain gauge comprising a deformable element rigidly applied to a layered support (8a),
Said layered support (8a) is firmly applied to one of the two end walls (9a) of each said slot (9) located opposite each other along said imaginary circumference (B). ing,
The welding device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: each said slot (9) contains a pair of said electrical resistance strain gauges applied to respective said end walls (9a);
The welding device according to claim 3, characterized in that: Each said face (7a, 7b) of said plate (7) has, between each pair of adjacent said slots (9), a receiving groove (10) for electrical connection of said deformation sensor (8). , the accommodation groove (10) is arranged along the virtual circumference (B),
The welding device according to any one or more of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: said slots (9) and said receiving grooves (10) are each closed by a plurality of annular protective plugs (11);
a plurality of said annular protective plugs (11) are applied on corresponding said faces (7a, 7b) of said plate (7) and arranged along said imaginary circumference (B);
The welding device according to claim 5, characterized in that: an electronic control and management unit configured for operation of said moving assembly (2) and regulation of the strength of said welding force;
said electronic control and management unit comprising instructions for adjusting the intensity of said welding force based on data collected by said deformation sensor (8);
said deformation sensor (8) is controlled by said electronic control and management unit,
The welding device according to any one or more of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: Said device (6) includes a connecting cable (12) for connecting said deformation sensor (8) to a signal converter in order to transfer the data collected by said deformation sensor (8) to said electronic control and management unit. ),
The connection cable (12) is
at least partially housed in a track (13) provided along the side of said plate (7) and arranged in direct or indirect communication with said slot (9);
The welding device according to any one or more of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: Said plate (7) is
a lateral pocket (15) arranged in direct or indirect communication with said slot (9) for accommodating electronic components associated with said deformation sensor (8) and external electrical connection terminals of said deformation sensor (8); has a
The welding device according to any one or more of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: a first surface (7a) of said surfaces (7a, 7b) of said plate (7) is stably fixed to the free end of said stem (4);
A second side (7b) of said sides (7a, 7b) of said plate (7) opposite said first side (7a) is attached to a support block (18) of at least one of said electrodes. stably fixed,
The welding device according to any one or more of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that:

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